The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from United States

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This page contains a list of the greatest American Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 370 Gymnasts, 52 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the 2nd most number of Gymnasts.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Gymnasts of all time. This list of famous American Gymnasts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Gymnasts.

Photo of Edward Hennig

1. Edward Hennig (1879 - 1960)

With an HPI of 56.03, Edward Hennig is the most famous American Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Edward August Hennig (October 13, 1879 – August 28, 1960) was an American gymnast who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He died in Summit County, Ohio. Hennig won two gold medals, one of them at club swinging. In the horizontal bar event he and his countryman Anton Heida had the same score and the gold medal was shared between them. He also competed in the pommel horse event without winning a medal. In the all-around event he finished 50th, in the team competition he was a member of the Turnverein Vorwärts (Cleveland) which finished 13th. In the gymnastics triathlon he finished 59th and in the athletics triathlon he finished 36th.

Photo of Herman Glass

2. Herman Glass (1880 - 1961)

With an HPI of 55.21, Herman Glass is the 2nd most famous American Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Herman Theobald Glass (October 15, 1880 – January 13, 1961) was an American gymnast who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904, he won the gold medal in the rings event.

Photo of Simone Biles

3. Simone Biles (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 51.56, Simone Biles is the 3rd most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 61 different languages.

Simone Arianne Biles Owens (née Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. With 11 Olympic medals, she is tied with Věra Čáslavská as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast, and has the most Olympic medals earned by a U.S. gymnast. At the Olympic Games, Biles is a two-time gold medalist in the individual all-around (2016, 2024). She is also a two-time champion on vault (2016, 2024), the 2016 champion and 2024 silver medalist on floor exercise, and a two-time bronze medalist on balance beam (2016, 2020). Biles led the gold medal-winning United States teams in 2016, dubbed the "Final Five," and in 2024, dubbed the "Golden Girls". At the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she was favored to win at least four of the six available gold medals, she withdrew from most of the competition after the qualification round due to "the twisties", a temporary loss of air awareness while performing twisting elements. She won a silver medal with the United States team nicknamed the "Fighting Four". At the World Championships, she is the most decorated - male or female - artistic gymnast of all time with 30 total medals in which 23 of them are Gold. Biles is a six-time individual all-around champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2023), six-time floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), and four-time balance beam champion (2014–2015, 2019, 2023), all record-high totals. She is also a two-time vault champion (2018–2019) and a member of a record-high five gold medal-winning United States teams (2014–2015, 2018–2019, 2023). She is also a four-time World silver medalist (2013–2014 and 2023 on vault, 2018 on uneven bars), a three-time World bronze medalist (2015 on vault, 2013 and 2018 on balance beam). Domestically, Biles has won a record-high nine United States national all-around championships (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021, 2023–2024); her win in 2024 made her the oldest female gymnast to ever win the title. She is also a seven-time champion on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, a two-time uneven bars champion, and the only woman to win all five gold medals in a single championships twice (2018, 2024). Biles is the sixth woman to win an individual all-around title at both the Olympics and the World Championships and the first since Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to hold both titles simultaneously. She is the tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win a World medal on every event, and the first female gymnast since Daniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal on every event at a single Olympics or World Championships. Biles is the originator of the most difficult skill on women's vault, balance beam, and floor exercise and the only gymnast to attempt each skill to date. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2023, she won her eighth U.S. Gymnastics title, breaking the 90-year-old U.S. Gymnastics title record previously held by Alfred Jochim. Biles has won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year four times (2017, 2019, 2020, 2025) and Comeback of the Year once (2024).

Photo of Shawn Johnson East

4. Shawn Johnson East (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 51.05, Shawn Johnson East is the 4th most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 all-around World Champion, and a five-time Pan American Games gold medalist, winning the team titles in 2007 and 2011, as well as titles in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam in 2007. Johnson became a member of the U.S. senior team in 2007. Her rookie season included winning the all-around at the American Cup, Pan American Games, U.S. National Championships, and World Championships. Johnson is also the 2007 individual all-around World Champion, 2007 World Champion on floor exercise, and a member of the 2007 gold medal-winning U.S. gymnastics team. As well as being the 2007 U.S. Champion on balance beam and floor exercise, the 2008 U.S. Champion on floor exercise and silver medalist on balance beam, Johnson is a three-time U.S. all-around Champion, winning once as a junior and twice as a senior. In May 2009, Johnson was the winner of season eight of Dancing with the Stars, and in November 2012 she earned second place on the all-star edition. Johnson announced her retirement from gymnastics on June 3, 2012.

Photo of Bart Conner

5. Bart Conner (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 50.27, Bart Conner is the 5th most famous American Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Barthold Wayne Conner (born March 28, 1958) is a retired American Olympic gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Oklahoma, along with his wife, Romanian Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci. In addition, Conner is a long-time gymnastics commentator, and both Comăneci and Conner are highly involved with the Special Olympics.

Photo of Larry Nassar

6. Larry Nassar (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 48.79, Larry Nassar is the 6th most famous American Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Lawrence Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former family medicine osteopathic physician and convicted sex offender. From 1996 to 2014, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team, where he used his position to exploit and sexually assault hundreds of young athletes as part of the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history. In 2016, Nassar was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls under the guise of medical treatment. His victims included numerous Olympic and United States women's national gymnastics team gymnasts. Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on December 7, 2017, after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography and tampering with evidence on July 11, 2017. On January 24, 2018, Nassar was sentenced to an additional 40 to 175 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections, after pleading guilty in Ingham County to seven counts of sexual assault. On February 5, 2018, he was sentenced to an additional 40 to 125 years in Michigan State Prison after pleading guilty to an additional three counts of sexual assault in Eaton County. The judge in charge of the federal case ordered his state and federal sentences to run consecutively, ensuring a de facto sentence of life imprisonment without parole. In the unlikely event that Nassar is still alive when his federal sentence is complete, upon release he will immediately be transferred to a Michigan state prison to serve his two state sentences concurrently. Nassar is a central figure of the 2020 film Athlete A, a documentary about the scandal.

Photo of Aly Raisman

7. Aly Raisman (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 48.59, Aly Raisman is the 7th most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Alexandra Rose Raisman (born May 25, 1994) is an American retired artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian. She was captain of both the 2012 "Fierce Five" and 2016 "Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams, which won their respective team competitions. At the 2012 Olympics in London, she won gold medals in the team and floor competitions, as well as the bronze medal on the balance beam, making her the most decorated American gymnast at the Games. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal in the team event, making her and teammate Gabby Douglas the only Americans with back-to-back team gold medals. Raisman also won silver medals in the individual all-around and on the floor exercise. She is the third-most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history behind Shannon Miller and Simone Biles, with six Olympic medals. Raisman was also a member of the gold-winning American teams at the 2011 and 2015 World Championships, and the World bronze medalist on floor exercise in 2011. She is also a two-time national champion on floor exercise (2012, 2015), the 2012 national champion on balance beam, and a five-time medalist in the all-around at the national championships (silver in 2016, bronze in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015).

Photo of Gabby Douglas

8. Gabby Douglas (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 48.00, Gabby Douglas is the 8th most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around champion and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She was a member of the gold-winning teams at both the 2012 and the 2016 Summer Olympics, dubbed the "Fierce Five" and the "Final Five" by the media, respectively. She was also a member of the gold-winning American teams at the 2011 and the 2015 World Championships. Additionally, she is the 2012 U.S. champion on the uneven bars and the 2016 American Cup all-around champion. Douglas is the first African American to win an Olympic individual all-around title, and the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympic Games. With a total of six Olympic and World Championship medals, she is the 11th most decorated U.S. female gymnast of all time. Douglas's gymnastics successes have led to her life story adaptation in the 2014 Lifetime biopic film, The Gabby Douglas Story, as well as her own reality television series, Douglas Family Gold. She is the author of two books: Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith and Raising the Bar. In 2021, she won the first season of The Masked Dancer.

Photo of Mary Lou Retton

9. Mary Lou Retton (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 45.10, Mary Lou Retton is the 9th most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American retired gymnast. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals. Retton's performance made her one of the most popular athletes in the United States. Her gold medal win was historic as Retton was the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in Olympic gymnastics.

Photo of Kerri Strug

10. Kerri Strug (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 41.57, Kerri Strug is the 10th most famous American Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Kerri Allyson Strug (born November 19, 1977) is an American retired gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. She was a member of the Magnificent Seven, the victorious all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Strug performed the vault that clinched the gold for the U.S. team despite having injured her ankle.

People

Pantheon has 52 people classified as American gymnasts born between 1879 and 2007. Of these 52, 50 (96.15%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American gymnasts include Simone Biles, Shawn Johnson East, and Bart Conner. The most famous deceased American gymnasts include Edward Hennig, and Herman Glass. As of April 2024, 52 new American gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Edward Hennig, Herman Glass, and Simone Biles.

Living American Gymnasts

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Deceased American Gymnasts

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Newly Added American Gymnasts (2024)

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